Doug Baldwin Tackles The Issue About The Confederate Flag During ESPN Interview

As the national debate about the Confederate Flag continues in the wake of the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin Jr. shared his thoughts on the issue.

Baldwin, who grew up in Pensacola, Florida gave a long and deep response to the issue of the flag on his Facebook page on June 29th, 2015:

Pensacola, FL. Home sweet home..

I can respect freedom of speech. Hell, I’ve been known to rub people the wrong way the times when I have publicly stood for something I believed in. And I guess, there is the occasional football rant.. But that is a different story. Today I want to discuss this picture, depicting individuals demonstrating their freedom of speech, taken in my home town. It is not surprising to see, however it is still a very frustrating image to me for various reasons. Why? Well, I grew up in this area and know the population all too well. A noose hanging from a rearview mirror wasn’t outside the realm of what I would see in my high school parking lot. My experiences in life have taught me that you can’t expect ignorance to educate itself. Being an African-American born in the South, there is some confirmation bias in play here but I’m going to attempt to share some history while stating my stance on the subject based on those facts of history.

First, let’s discuss some facts of history. The flag that we are debating over is not even the original confederate flag. This information may seem irrelevant but it is important to point out for the sake of validity in my argument. Although it wasn’t the official flag of the Confederate States of America, it was the battle flag used by Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army. So the flag at some point did indeed represent the “rebel” cause. These “rebels”, for the most part, were fighting against the union in an effort to keep slavery in place. (You can check this fact by googling the Articles of Secession). For the sake of this argument, let’s negate that simple fact. (Which is a key element to an argument a lot of supporters of the flag are making.) So what is the relevance of the flag without the context of the civil war?

Ever heard of the civil rights movement? In the late 40’s, the flag was an adopted symbol of the segregationist Dixiecrat party. Article 4 of their platform stated, “We stand for the segregation of the races.” In 1956, the battle flag was a prominent feature on the redesign of Georgia’s state flag partly in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling to desegregate schools just two years earlier. They have since removed it. The argument we hear today is that the flag represents “Southern Heritage” and “Southern Pride”. The only relevant “heritage” I could find in history not pertaining to civil war was associated with racism and segregation. Is this the heritage and pride you speak of?

That brings me full circle. By understanding the significant historical symbolism of Robert E. Lee’s battle flag, we can easily identify the various messages that flying the flag represents. But to all of you exercising your right to freedom of speech, do you even know what you are supporting? To those arguing against the flag, make sure your argument is based on the facts.

I’m sure there are those individuals that understand what the flag stands for and still support it. And to that group I say, may God bless you because I’m having a hard time with grace myself. As a 26 year old who grew up in the south around many supporters of the confederate flag, I would like to ask those same people to answer this question: What does southern pride and heritage really mean? Is it the sweet tea and hospitality? Or is this a sense of pride for the rebellious actions against a national government who had the audacity to say that secession was unconstitutional and slavery was wrong? Furthermore, I’d like to ask, how does this symbol which produces such a strong feeling of offense by those who were oppressed under it, best represent that pride and heritage? If you can answer these questions and defend this flag in a way that isn’t rooted in a sense of emotional, stubborn, pride for the oppressive intent this flag has represented in the past, then I’ll gladly commend you for it. But until then, I’ll be patiently waiting for the day ignorance can educate itself and will do my part to try and educate it in an assertive, respectful manner.

Respectfully,

– DB

On Sunday, ESPN released a conversation they had with Baldwin about the issue and how it has impacted his home town.

Im based in London have worked as a secretary for more than 10 years and have an HND in Business Studies but am tired of admin work and office politics and would like to do something more creative- change careers.. . I write in my spare time and have attended an advanced writing course for the past 3 years. I like reading and would like to see if I could train to teach creative writing in further education or and English /English literature. I would also be grateful if I could get any info on what qualifications you need to be able to teach English as a first language and Basic literacy skills.. . Thanks. Any advice would be great regarding training in London..

I have my own blog and might bid on projects to blog for others. I believe there are some guidelines out there around what is allowed or not regarding images posted on public blogs (such as copyright rules, licensing, or trademarks). Is there anywhere to go to find industry guidelines for blog post images?.

For the “letter to the editor,” can one send his/her blog post to the editor. The instructions say: “Letters to the editor should only be sent to The Times, and not to other publications. We do not publish open letters or third-party letters.”. . Does that mean blog posts, too?. . Thanks a lot..